More than a fifth of people in Scotland have gone a day without eating because they are too poor to buy food, according to a Citizens Advice Scotland survey.
The survey of more than 2,600 people found 21% had not eaten for a day due to lack of money.
Results suggested many working people are struggling to afford food.
Just under half (45%) of respondents were employed and of these one in three (29%) reported having to reduce or skip meals because they lacked money for food.
A total of 40% of working respondents worried about running out of food before having money to buy more and 35% said they are struggling to afford to eat balanced meals.
This rose to 45% of all those who completed the survey, employed and unemployed, worrying about running out of food before having funds to replace it.
Researchers found 23% of people had had to skip meals so that their children could eat.
More than a fifth (21%) of people considered fresh fruit to be unaffordable.
“For some people going hungry is the norm – that’s just not right,” he said.
“This study shows that many working people in Scotland are struggling to afford to buy food, and in 2018 this is simply unacceptable.”
He added: “Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland have seen a 202% rise in demand for advice on food and food banks in the last five years.
“That’s an enormous rise and points to a real crisis in terms of the money in people’s pockets not going far enough.”
A total of 2,651 completed the survey in September or October 2018, around half online and half on paper by people seeking advice from Citizens Advice Scotland or partner agencies.